Register parent, Anaheim in talks on naming rights

Aug. 15, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 12:28 p.m.

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An artist's rendering of the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, or ARTIC, shows how the 67,000-square-foot facility will change the scenery near the Honda Center and Angel Stadium in Anaheim. ARTIST RENDERING

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Construction is underway on the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, a 67,000-square-foot terminal that will provide access to Amtrak, Metrolink, buses, taxis and perhaps a high-speed railway. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The steel structure of the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center is beginning to take shape. The 67,000-square-foot terminal will provide access to Amtrak, Metrolink, buses, taxis and perhaps a high-speed railway. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Construction is progressing on the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, near the 57 freeway and Angel Stadium. Construction began last September on a $184.2 million facility on the land, which is expected to open in late 2014. That complex will be paid for by county, state and federal funds. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A Surfliner train, pulling away from the Anaheim train station, passes the new construction of the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, a 67,000-square-foot terminal that will provide access to Amtrak, Metrolink, buses, taxis and perhaps a high-speed railway. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A construction worker is seen among the steel structure of the new Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, a 67,000-square-foot terminal that will provide access to Amtrak, Metrolink, buses, taxis and perhaps a high-speed railway. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A welder maneuvers his hydraulic lift among the steel structure of the new Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, a 67,000-square-foot terminal that will provide access to Amtrak, Metrolink, buses, taxis and perhaps a high-speed railway. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The steel structure of the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center is beginning to take shape. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

An artist's rendering of the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, or ARTIC, shows how the 67,000-square-foot facility will change the scenery near the Honda Center and Angel Stadium in Anaheim.ARTIST RENDERING

ANAHEIM – Freedom Communications, parent company of the Orange County Register, is negotiating an exclusive contract with the city that would allow Freedom to seek out a corporate sponsor for a transportation hub under construction near Angel Stadium, the company's owner said Thursday.

If an agreement is reached, Freedom would not be paid unless it finds a sponsor that suited city officials for the new Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, said Aaron Kushner, CEO of Freedom Communications and publisher of the Register.

Kushner declined to discuss the potential value of such a deal, nor how much Freedom would be paid if a sponsor is found.

“The basic logic is that we are the only significant media business in Orange County, and we want to use that to bring a sponsor to pay for a project that would otherwise be paid by taxpayers,” Kushner said.

A sponsorship deal would likely help the city pay off the 13.5-acre property it purchased last year from the Orange County Transportation Authority to build the hub, a 67,000-square-foot terminal that will provide access to Amtrak, Metrolink, buses, taxis and perhaps a high-speed railway. Anaheim agreed to purchase the land from the OCTA for $32.5 million.

Construction began last September on a $184.2 million facility on the land, which is expected to open in late 2014. That complex will be paid for by county, state and federal funds.

“If it makes financial sense, then I don't have a problem talking to Freedom or anyone else,” Councilwoman Lucille Kring said. “As long as it's not a tobacco or alcohol company and we have the ability to determine what the sign looks like and we get a good deal, then it would be good to have this type of revenue coming to the city.”

Mayor Tom Tait questioned the ethics related to the proposal. He also said any contract for a firm that would find a sponsor should be opened up for competitive bids.

“Not only do I question the need for this agreement, I have serious concerns about creating a financial partnership with our local newspaper, which also serves as a watchdog for the citizens over matters at City Hall,” the mayor said. “Independent journalism is important for democracy.”

Kushner said that Freedom's negotiations, or any deal, with Anaheim would not affect the Register's news coverage of Orange County's most populous city.

“Just because someone has a business relationship with the Register, it does not affect how the news side operates,” Kushner said. “If you can't have a business relationship with someone you report on, then we wouldn't have any advertisers in the paper.”

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